A Bolete that grows in heather?

[earthdragon64]

I don't know fungi well enough to give a suggestion, but there are a few areas on this side of the Cairngorms which are currently heather moorland, but weren't always.

There are some areas where trees were chopped down and heather moorland encouraged for Grouse, although this probably mainly happened during the 1800s. Even there, if you walk across them, you'll often find old stumps hidden in the heather, usually with your shins.

In some other places moorland has taken over more recently when trees were chopped down during the 2nd world war, but the tree stumps are still there.

I don't know how long fungi would keep growing in an area where the trees had gone, maybe it would just be a couple of years, maybe a lot longer, perhaps one of our fungi experts would know.

Regards, Audrey.

[fro-in-shorts]

There have been large boletes on the cliffs all over the Gower, I've seen them for the last couple of years, they blue quickly when cut and reach 15-20cm across the cap, and they grow on the cliff/grass/heather, I've never managed to identify them, and there is a complete absence of trees, as they are within spitting distance of the sea.

[fairplay]

Originally Posted by earthdragon64

I don't know fungi well enough to give a suggestion, but there are a few areas on this side of the Cairngorms which are currently heather moorland, but weren't always.

There are some areas where trees were chopped down and heather moorland encouraged for Grouse, although this probably mainly happened during the 1800s. Even there, if you walk across them, you'll often find old stumps hidden in the heather, usually with your shins.

In some other places moorland has taken over more recently when trees were chopped down during the 2nd world war, but the tree stumps are still there.

I don't know how long fungi would keep growing in an area where the trees had gone, maybe it would just be a couple of years, maybe a lot longer, perhaps one of our fungi experts would know.

Regards, Audrey.

A good friend of mine, Dr Michael Kirby, who sadly passed away last year, once pointed out to me a large troop of Laccaria laccata growing where Birch trees once stood 5 years previously. They had been cut down and the stumps treated with a strong solution of Roundup to prevent them regrowing.
He asked me "They are a mycorrhizal species, so what can they be having a symbiotic relationship with" ? I had no answer.

Neil.

[nickyspaghetti]

Thanks for all the suggestions - the areas I found them in didn't look like they had ever been forested, but maybe they had been a long time ago.

I have a photo of a bolete that was found 5 km away but looks pretty much identical although this one was certainly surrounded by a variety of different trees and not out in the middle of nowhere.

It may be related or it may not.

[Chris Yeates]

see: Why Can't I Post External Images in the Forum? | Wild About Britain

Chris

[Chris Yeates]

Originally Posted by fro-in-shorts

There have been large boletes on the cliffs all over the Gower, I've seen them for the last couple of years, they blue quickly when cut and reach 15-20cm across the cap, and they grow on the cliff/grass/heather, I've never managed to identify them, and there is a complete absence of trees, as they are within spitting distance of the sea.

from memory the coastal grassland of Gower is rich in rock-roses, both Helianthemum nummularium and the much rarer H. oelandicum

Helianthemum will do as a tree as far as boletes are concerned - Boletus luridus is the classic one . . .

see:

British Fungi - record details

Chris